Thursday, 6 March 2014

UK banknote redesign

This post came about after a discussion about money. The new plastic banknotes of the bank of England to be exact. This got me thinking of a new design for a UK banknote.
The title is a little misleading as there isn't really such thing as a UK banknote!
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and issues its own notes. But there are also seven commercial banks that issue banknotes in pounds Stirling under license from the treasury, in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Although accepted as money they are not technically legal tender and might not be accepted in England and Wales!
So I decided to design a new UK wide plastic banknote.
It depicts symbols of the four nations of the UK and has four main themes; Capital cities for £5 note. National emblems for £10. national plant for £20 and historic royal arms for £50. The reason for this is so you still have the regional identity on the note, but is still something that is recognisable and could be used anywhere in the UK, in a similar way to Euro notes. I experimented with banknotes recently on this blog but I took down that post and replaced it with this one.

Both sides of the banknote. The top has all the traditional aspects' of a Bank of England note: Queen's head, "I promise to pay the bearer...Signed Chief executive etc. Where the bottom reverse is very much the business side of the note. Emphasising the price, it also has the title of the Treasury Solicitor who owns the Bank of England on behalf of the government (and would therefore own the rebranded British National Bank), and the full title of the bank. The bank emblem of Britannia is based on the Bank of England badge, however there are some differences which include but are not limited to: Union Jack shield, Trident and the date of 1694 which is both the year the Bank of England was founded and the year the first banknotes were issued.
The Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland series in these notes are:
Next is the £10 notes which are the national emblems series:

This example is a neutral note with the Royal Arms, the reverse is the same as the £5 note except the value is stated at £10. There is also England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland versions:

Next is the £20 notes which feature the national plant series. These notes are slightly different from the above as silver is included in the colour scheme:

Again there is a neutral note but there is also England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland versions:

Next is the £50 note which is the historical kingdom series. The reverse is the same as the £20 except the Union Jack design on Britannia's shield is now in colour:

This is the English version the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland versions:

And last but not least is the £100 note this has gold in the colour scheme. there is only one version of this note that has the Royal Arms:

These notes are British National Banknotes (my rebrand of the Bank of England, which is the central bank of the whole UK, territories and dependencies not just England). Although there are regional themes all the notes are designed to be used anywhere in the UK.

But what about the other seven banks who print notes under licence?

Well they fallow a standard pattern similar to the above notes:

The exact same as the above notes except the bank name (in this example Ulster Bank from Royal Bank of Scotland Group) and rather than any decorative or commiserative picture schemes it has the Treasury logo, stating the note was printed under licence. The reverse would be unique and individual to the respected bank. This way Scotland and Northern Ireland can keep their regional notes, but they can still be used in England and Wales without fear of being rejected.

About Me

My name is Samuel McKittirck, I live in the Maiden City of Londonderry in Northern Ireland. I have had a long interest in flags, emblems and symbols since a young age, possibly as a result where of growing up in a place where flags and symbols are very important but also controversial. I am a member of the Flag Institute and believe that understanding, and respecting each others symbols (and traditions) is vital to community relations, I also think flags and emblems can play a positive uniting role in N.Ireland particularly in regards to a northern Ireland flag.

My other hobbies include Hiking, cycling, history particularly local history and everything and anything to do with railways.